Libya on Friday starts destroying 3,300 unfilled bombs as it clears up its chemical weapons, the Hague-based Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) said in a statement.

The OPCW inspectors will monitor the destruction, which is planned to last until March 5.

Libya had announced the destruction of chemical weapons in last December after nine months negotiations by Libyan President Moammar Qaddafi with US and Britain.

The destruction will be done under the OPCW verification regime and in accordance with a detailed plan for verification of destruction of these weapons as agreed between the Technical Secretariat of the OPCW and the Libyan authorities, the statement added.

An OPCW inspection team is already in Libya for that purpose.

Referring to the start of the destruction campaign in Libya the Director-General of OPCW Technical Secretariat, Mr. Rogelio Pfirter, stated, “This is a very positive step and a confirmation of Libya’s intention to actually get rid of prohibited weapons. In a wider sense, one must see today’s events as a confirmation of the validity and importance of multilateralism in the field of disarmament and the non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction”. (Albawaba.com)